Saddam’s deputy apologises for Kuwait invasion

The deputy of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein has apologised to Kuwait’s Emir Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah for invading his country in the 1990s, admitting that Kuwait was never part of Iraq.

Izzat Al-Douri said during a video posted on social media that the invasion was a big mistake and contradicted the ruling Baath party’s principles at the time.

“Kuwait is not part of Iraq. Iraq and Kuwait are part of the Peninsula which is part of the larger Arab nation,” he said.

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Iraq invaded Kuwait on 2 August 1990 and remained there for six months before an international coalition of 34 countries led by the United States forced its troops out.

Al-Douri held a number of senior positions during the rule of late President Saddam Hussein including deputy chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council.

After the US invaded Iraq in 2003, Al-Douri disappeared. The former ruling Baath Party in Iraq announced that he had assumed the post of secretary-general after Saddam Hussein was executed in 2006.